Editorial: Call special session in bid to fix this mess

Thursday

Jun 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 26, 2008 at 7:14 PM

Here is the crazy game of chicken we are playing with the Illinois budget:

All spring, Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed a hodge-podge of ideas that would pump new money into the state’s budget. They involved expanding gambling, releasing $530 million from special funds, issuing bonds to relieve the state’s pension debt and passing the $34 billion Illinois Works capital plan.

Here is the crazy game of chicken we are playing with the Illinois budget:

All spring, Gov. Rod Blagojevich pushed a hodge-podge of ideas that would pump new money into the state’s budget. They involved expanding gambling, releasing $530 million from special funds, issuing bonds to relieve the state’s pension debt and passing the $34 billion Illinois Works capital plan.

All spring, the Illinois House rejected those ideas. The House then adjourned having passed plenty of new spending bills but none of the governor’s proposed revenue bills. It sent the governor a budget he claims is $2 billion out of balance. As promised, the governor this week released a list of cuts he plans to make to the budget. Unless, of course, the House changes its mind and passes all the things it rejected all spring.

That is not going to happen, and that’s why we believe the only solution begins with the governor ordering the General Assembly back to Springfield for a special session.

We imagine House Speaker Michael Madigan would, in one sense, like nothing better than to allow Blagojevich to follow through on his threat. The laundry list of cuts the governor released Tuesday is almost comically draconian, focusing heavily on programs for children, the mentally ill, the elderly and others among the most vulnerable segments of society. For Blagojevich — who has made his name as the social services governor — to author one of the greatest human services reductions in state history would be a disaster.

But to allow Blagojevich to do so — and we are skeptical that the governor would follow through on anything close to what he outlined Tuesday — would represent one of the most cynical acts in state government in recent memory.

That's why we believe it’s time for the House to return to Springfield to finish what it did not finish in May. The scenario we are now seeing is exactly what everyone knew was coming when the General Assembly adjourned May 31.

We realize this could mean another summer of special sessions as the House tinkers with Blagojevich’s various proposals. This certainly is not a scenario the Senate wants.

Thus far, both Gov. Blagojevich and Speaker Madigan have proven absolutely intractable on the budget. The pressure of a special session is the only force we can imagine that will cause any movement on either side.

So far, the governor has shown no inclination toward compromise. That needs to change. For starters, we need to know more about exactly where the $34 billion in Illinois Works would be used. We are extremely nervous about handing this governor that kind of gift bag, even if it does come with “lockbox” provisions designed specifically to protect the governor from his own impulses. Madigan also has a legitimate concern in opposing a gaming expansion bill that is not embraced by Chicago.

On Madigan’s part, we should note that the “fund sweep” the governor has pushed is hardly a new idea.

Blagojevich seems to believe that if he makes his proposed cuts, Madigan will get the blame. Sorry, governor, but the parents of children who no longer can get mental health treatment because you cut $3 million will blame you. So will the working parents who no longer can afford child care because of your $10 million line item veto. So will all those affected by job reductions you propose. That’s because you are the governor, the state’s chief executive.

And you have the authority to call the legislature back to Springfield to fix this mess, as painful and contentious as that process may be.

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